248 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



utmost, miglit venture out in the evening to kill a ptar- 

 migan. Besides, the dreary cliffs in their horrible same- 

 iieBs offered little or no inducement for excursions. The 

 only change was caused by the natives, who knew how 

 to find us even here ; exchanging some birds or fish for 

 a piece of bread, and then lying half the day near the 

 ship, or on it, and sometimes being persuaded to show 

 their tricks in the Kajaks, by sitting in them and turning 

 over, so that the bottom of the boat became uppermost, 

 they having their head in the water, and then cleverly 

 turning up again without any assistance. Once, a whole 

 fleet came, six Kajaks and three Umiaks. We hoped to 

 find amongst them our friend Starick, who ought to 

 have begun his journey to Lichtenfels by this time ; but 

 they were only natives, returning from seal-catching or 

 merely wandering about. Of course they could not miss 

 the opportunity of satisfying their curiosity. They 

 came alongside, and some men stepped on board, the 

 women meanwhile remaining in their Umiaks. The 

 latter were but lightly clad. The work had made them 

 warm, and they had thrown everything off that was a 

 burden ; but they thought nothing of arranging and 

 completing their toilette before our ship's crew. 



At last, on the lltli of July, at noon, we left Peru 

 harbour with a favourable wind, hoping now to reach 

 Kaksimiut. But, unfortunately, when about eight miles 

 from the goal, a calm brought us to a stand-still, forcing 

 us to find a suitable anchorage under the shore. The 

 harbour where we lay for some days had no name ; Captain 

 Bans* said he visited it now for the first time. Unfavour- 

 able wind, fog, and rain rendered our abode remarkably dis- 

 agreeable. On the 14th, a boat came from Kaksimiut with 



